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Good morning, Portland! Pull on your wool socks and galoshesâwe're heading into another cold and rainy week. If you're feeling especially grateful that you have a warm and dry place to call home this week, consider sharing that joy with those without this holiday season. Here's a helpful list of local homeless services in need of material or financial donations.
In case you missed it, Portland saw its first snowfall of the winter Saturday evening. Hereâs Zane with the clip:
Itâs snowing!! pic.twitter.com/I5PWJpCuR5
â Zane Sparling (@PDXzane) December 19, 2021
- The strike led by Fred Meyer and QFC workers has come to a swift end thanks to an agreement reached between the grocery workersâ union and parent company Kroger Friday evening. The agreement promises "significant wage increases, added workplace protections, a secure retirement, and quality healthcare,â per a union press release.
- The latest episode of the Center for Investigative Reportingâs podcast Reveal centers on the disproportionate criminalization of homeless people in Portland. In it, we learn whatâs been long suspected: City officials are intending on using âsafe rest villagesâ as an excuse to sweep homeless encampments and penalize unhoused Portlanders.
- During a sobering press conference Friday, Gov. Kate Brown warned Oregonians of a coming surge of COVID-19âs Omicron variant across the state. State health officials say the impending wave will be the largest uptick in cases since the beginning of the pandemic. With that in mind, hereâs your daily reminder to GET BOOSTED.
- Cool guy lobbyist being cool:
League of Oregon Cities director under scrutiny after he tells service workers to get âa better jobâ, is called out by Beavertonâs mayor https://t.co/wfxdwNyhHy pic.twitter.com/fDsS6KkF3u
â The Oregonian (@Oregonian) December 20, 2021
- The fate of the 4-month-long criminal fraud trial against Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is in the hands of the jury this week. Hereâs a useful summary by NPR of the trialâs dynamics thus far.
- After months of will-he-wonât-he, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has announced he wonât support President Joe Bidensâ Build Back Better infrastructure plan, imperiling the billâs future. This news comes after Manchin allegedly told Biden he would vote in favor of the social safety net and climate change bill. Time to return the friendship bracelet, Manchin.
- More than 200 people have died after a âsuper typhoonâ struck the southeastern portion of the Philippines on Thursday, with more missing and injured. The head of the Philippines Red Cross told the BBC: "There are some areas that look like it has been bombed worse than World War Two." It seems to only be the latest in global weather reaching new extremes caused by climate change.
- Gabriel Boric, a man described by the Associated Press as a âleftist millennial,â was elected Chileâs new president Sunday, beating out a competitor that had been routinely compared to Donald Trump. Boricâs election opens the door to policies that embrace equity, social justice, and other progressive ideals in a country recently ruled by a vicious dictator.
- I leave you with this tempting offer, bread-heads:
The Custom Oregon Plate GLUTEN was previously assigned, but is now available for reservation. https://t.co/rbUphNzbuF #Oregon #LicensePlate #VanityPlate #OregonPlates #CustomPlate #GLUTEN pic.twitter.com/LxqjtHgffu
â Custom Oregon Plates (@OregonPlates) December 19, 2021